Ridiculously Easy and Customizable Hasselback Chicken is the epitome of the perfect weeknight meal. Need dinner on the table quick tonight? This dinner is quick and easy because everything cooks for 20-25 minutes on one sheet pan. Plus, the pickiest eater can customize this meal to their preference so it’s a meal everyone can enjoy!
Ridiculously Easy and Hasselback Stuffed Chicken is a recipe I thoroughly enjoy. Let’s be real, we’ve all seen recipes like this before, I’m not doing anything extraordinarily creative here, but I’m posting this recipe as a reminder of how amazing it is. I took one bite of this dinner and thought, Oh shit, this is really good, I better share this!
In all seriousness, one of my favorite aspects of food is the principle that sometimes less is more. Understandably, many people feel the need to go bigger and bolder to differentiate themselves from the oversaturated world of food blogging. What I enjoyed most about this particular recipe was achieving amazing flavors with minimal seasonings. I literally used lemon, salt, pepper, and dill, and that’s it. The execution was simple yet the end result was mouth watering.
I will be, without a doubt, making this recipe a lot this winter.
Before I launch into how amazing this Easy and Customizable Hasselback Chicken recipe is, I want to do a sloppy segway into some recent thoughts that have been swirling around my noggin. A year or so ago I made a YouTube channel for Shock Munch and produced 5 videos. The videos have a low to nonexistent production value but they were fun to make. I asked my readers on Facebook if they preferred I continue with 3 written Shock Munch posts or produce 1 video per week. Overwhelmingly, the voters choose video.
At this juncture, I’m seriously considering switching my content over to Youtube but I have some reservations.
First, I put so much effort into this blog, the work is finally becoming second nature to me. For the first time, I’m proud of the content, including the food photography, that I’m producing. It’s scary to leave everything I know for a medium I know nothing about.
Second, I’ve been watching a ton of successful YouTube channels for research and I’m flat out intimated by the competition. You guys, you should see these people who have millions of subscribers. They are mostly young, hip, cool, skinny, have amazing skin, and are drop-dead gorgeous and adorable. Meanwhile, your Shock Munch girl is old, awkward on camera, blind in one eye, sporting acne, and has a considerable beer belly. I am, however, charming AF, so at least I have that going for me.
You know what else I have going for me? This mouthwatering Easy and Customizable Hasselback Chicken recipe!
Third, I’m flat out nervous you guys. I know for a fact I won’t be able to be my true self on camera for a while. I have a relatively low speaking voice in person but on camera, I automatically get weird and raise it a few octaves. Also, I enjoy swearing like a sailor and telling inappropriate jokes. I’m not sure how to be myself and make the channel work.
Buuuuuut, that all being said I’m still leaning towards giving it a try. Kieran would co-star in the series as much as possible and let’s face it, he’s the brains, beauty, and comedic talent behind Shock Munch. I, just work here. Bwhahahahahahaha. JK.
If Shock Munch becomes a YouTube channel I’m guessing I could produce one maybe two videos per week. I would still post the videos on this website but the food photography and written content would be minimal to nonexistent. The focus would primarily be food, DIY projects, and outdoorsy stuff. Oh, I should mention the show would be a comedy. I was a stand-up comedian in my youth so making people laugh is a passion of mine.
I feel like creating a YouTube channel would be the quickest way for people to get to know me. Let’s face it, readers continuously return to blogs whom they feel a connection with. You don’t care if your favorite blogger is making a recipe you’ve seen a thousand times, you just want to see them make it. At least, that’s why I go back to certain blogs time after time, I end up really liking the person behind it.
What do you guys think? Would you support me if I moved to YouTube or would you rather have 3 written posts per week? I would sincerely appreciate your thoughts in the comments below!
OK, back to this amazing and ridiculously Easy and Customizable Hasselback Chicken recipe. From start to finish this recipe took me about a 1/2 hour to make. To save even more time, try chopping the vegetables beforehand. Then all you have to do is slit the chicken, stuff, and cook!
If you have picky eaters in your house, swap any vegetables you don’t like for the ones you do! I mean, if you want to stuff it with pizza sauce and mozzarella sticks then you do you! This recipe only works when you take full control and use the ingredients you like best.
You’ll notice the recipe says you use “1/4 cup” of a certain vegetable. Honestly, that measurement is more of a guestimation. You’ll get a couple pieces of said vegetable stuffed into the chicken but you won’t use an entire zucchini, pepper, or onion for this recipe. However, there are a couple things you can do to use up the remaining ingredients. You can roast the leftover veggies and lemon with the potatoes surrounding the chicken, or you can use the leftover veggies in another recipe during the week. I did both. One night I sauteed the leftover veggies with sausage and cabbage and it was divine!
Alright dear readers, that’s a wrap on this ridiculously Easy and Customizable Hasselback Chicken recipe. This recipe is perfect for anyone who needs dinner on the table quickly without sacrificing incredible flavor. The vegetables stuffed into the chicken and the simple seasonings produce a tender chicken dinner that’s too die for! I hope you enjoy it!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20-25 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup zucchini chopped
- 1/4 cup red pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup yellow pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup onion chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon sliced
- 2-3 red potatoes diced with the skin on
- Season with olive oil salt, pepper, and fresh dill
- Garnish with feta or parmesan cheese
Ingredients
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- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut 6-7 slits (crosswise) into each chicken breast.
- Carefully transfer the chicken to a cookie sheet.
- Stuff each slit with your lemon and veggies in any order you like. You may use as much or as little veggies as you desire. Season each stuffed chicken breast generously with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Surround the stuffed chicken with the diced potatoes and leftover lemon and vegetables (optional). Season the potatoes, lemon, and vegetables with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Top the chicken and potatoes with fresh dill.
- Transfer the cookie sheet to the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Once the chicken is cooked I sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
You don't have to worry about how deep your cuts are in the chicken so long as you don't cut all the way through it!
You only stuff a little bit of the vegetables into the chicken which means you won't use an entire zucchini, pepper, onion, ect.. I mixed in the leftover vegetables and lemon in with the potatoes that surrounded the chicken. If you don't want to use the leftover vegetables in this dish, plan to use them up in another recipe so they don't go to waste! I like to saute the leftover veggies with some andouille sausage and cabbage!
The smaller you dice the potatoes the faster they will cook. Worse case, if your potatoes are not fully cooked by the time your chicken is finished, allow the chicken to rest and pop the potatoes back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.
If you don't care for the vegetables I chose for this recipe, you can simply swap them out for the ingredients you enjoy most!
Gosh, that’s a tough call, Christina. I hear ya on the video thing, but I’d hate to see the blog wither up and die…I get it though. There’s only enough time in a day to keep one of the two going. I do think you’d bring a charming vibe to your YouTube videos! I agree that the food blog world is over-saturated, but my philosophy is “so what? The internet is a big place.” For now, I vote that you do videos some weeks and the blog other weeks. Could you perhaps do a blog post with the video embedded? Anyhoo, this hasselback chicken looks amazing! I was just talking to my Mom this weekend about hasselback potatoes, and now I think I need a full on hasselback meal. Hasselback everything…including the brownies for dessert! (Not sure how, but there must be a way.) 🙂
Thank you for your comment David! I’m going to post 3x a week until I make the transition to YouTube, however, I would keep this website and post an embedded video in the post. Along with a quick snippet and a written recipe. I like that you said “so what” about the number of bloggers in relation to the internet. That made my day 🙂
That is a stunning idea, Christina! I’ve never thought to hasselback a chicken, just only potatoes! Haha, another recipe bookmarked for my Whole30! 🙂
Awww, thanks, Michelle! I’m glad this fits your Whole30! I keep hearing about that program but I’m a bit nervous to try it. I like the booze a little too much. Now that I think of it, my last sentence is a sure sign I NEED to do the Whole30 at some point. Hmmmm.
I would TOTALLY support you! I’m absolutely terrified about doing videos (still photos are hard enough) and kind of hate that blogging is headed in that direction so I applaud you for even considering taking the plunge :). And I’m guessing that people will love you FOR your inappropriate jokes, not despite them. Loving this recipe and I can’t wait to see where you decide to take ShockMunch!
Thank you Kelsie!!! <3
I love simple recipes and simple flavor like this one. The chicken looks delicious.
Thanks, Dawn! It turned out really well 🙂
If you can make this chicken and say it is no big deal, I’d say you’ll be great at video. Go attack! Sins of commission are always better than sins of omission. See how you do, may be the best thing you’ve ever done. People relate to other people, not to artificial personas.
Awww, thank you! Yeah, I figure it’s better to try and fail then to not try at all. Thank you for the vote of confidence 🙂
Well this is something delicious chicken, I would love to try it
thank you for sharing
You’re welcome Parth! Thank YOU for taking the time to comment 😀
Wow! That will be totally different to make the switch! I dabble into videos, but it is quite a bit of work to do for what turns out to be about a 1 to 2 minute video. It’s pretty fun, though, and I’m sure you’d do awesome! Speaking of awesome, this chicken! Such a great presentation and love how customizable it is! Whatever you decide to do – best of luck 🙂 !!!
Thank you, Dawn! I appreciate you taking the time to comment 🙂
I’ve never made hasselback chicken, but since I eat a tonne of chicken, I’m definitely pinning this recipe for later! As for your dilemma, that is a tough one. I think it is important to share content with your readers/viewers/followers in the format they prefer best. And it would be a smart business decision to move more in the direction of video!. But I totally understand the feeling of leaving behind (in some way) the blog and all the time you’ve invested in growing it. Can’t wait to hear what you decide Christina!
Yay! I hope you like the recipe! As for the video, I’m going to use this website for my landing page. For example, in order to get the full written recipe, folks gotta click on the link that directs them to the Munch. If I do it that way, I’ll hopefully be able to continue to build the site!